El Capitan Canyon — Hotel in Isla Vista

Overall, I really enjoyed El Capitan Canyon. I went there last July 4th weekend, &stayed in the middle section in a Yert. It was right near the pool restrooms, showers, so conveniently placed. It got hot during the day, & cold at night, so have a staff member open &close the windows for you. They're happy to help!! The round, wood beamed room, had a very comfy queen bed, a twin bed, plus a trundle twin bed underneath. The linens are good quality, & the pillows were great! There's a small fridge, pegs to hang clothes, & a kitchen like module.There's lots to do & see, or you can read, relax or vege out in front of your very own firepit. They offer free bicycles, walking tours of the farm nearby, & a really nice BBQ, with a great country, blues band, dancing, very family oriented, with babysitting services at night. They also have an evening astronomy expert, who is very knowledgeable, &ntertaining. Bring a flashlight everywhere you go at night! It's dark!! It's very safe, but still, you're in the woods, & there are mt Lions around, it's a good idea to have a buddy system for younger kids. Bring bikes, scooters, kites, frisbees, volleyball, soccer balls, outdoor games you enjoy. There's lots of open space to play no cars are allowed to drive thru unless checking in or out. Again, the staff is very accommodating, & go out of their way to help you with anything you need. If you're prone to frequently needing a restroom, esp at night, stay in a cabin or unit that has one, it's dark & cold at night, just convenient. There's a general store with Lots of fun stuff, but with practical things like clothes, bathing suits, sweatshirts, hats, sandals, etc, but a bit pricey. I bought nice books for my grandkids, plus fun little games, a cool walking stick carved from wood, & a nice coffee cup. They have another shop, but it's more artsy, with nice gifts like crystals, wood objects, wind chimes, candles, more. Again, pricey, but unique. The canyon is located across the street, down the road from Refugio State Beach. It's not an easy walk, esp with Lots of Beach gear, etc, take your car pay the parking, it's not worth shlepping the kids, grandma, gear, food, mom, etc, it's not very safe either(cars)...be a sport and pay the $10 fee, you'll be glad you did! The beach is beautiful, windy, very short from shore to sand, more ruggedly situated, but really relaxing once settled in. There a restroom, & cement path that's on an incline down to the beach. You can settle in close by, or venture left or right, away from the crowds. It's a beach frequented by locals, & visitors like yourself, & foreigners. The next day we took the bikes & rode over along the service road to the farm nearby. There were donkeys, goats, lots of hawks flying around looking for roadkill...there's a fence that separates the animals, but they're friendly, & fun to watch. Bring apples, carrots, let your kids feed them thru the fence, it's a lot of fun, & great photo opps! There are several different kinds of structures to stay in, I recommend that mom 'N dad stay in a Yert, or cabin, the kids stay in a tent. This way you have some privacy, & the kids have an adventure! They have tents that are right next to cabins, & it's really very safe. Only for kids that are at least 12-16 years old, who are responsible, & will watch their younger sibs! It's more affordable, & lots of fun. The pool area in the first section gets very busy, the kids were wild & there's no life guard. If you want more peace & quiet, ask if the upper section has less kids booked, worth questioning...we didn't get up their, but would venture to guess more people with kiddies stay near the pool & closer to the restaurant/gen store areas, near the entrance. The larger cabins are in the section further from the Check in desk. I believe there's a pool area, but all amenities, & a map of the canyon are on the web site. Overall, a great place to stay!!! The call it "Glamping," glamorous camping... You still need to bring everything you would camping, but it's definitely worth...

El Capitan is the ideal “camping” vacation spot in central California. There are accommodations to suit everyone. Cabins for glampers as well as yurts and canvas cabins for the more adventurous types. All have regular beds. The cabins have kitchenettes and full bathrooms with showers. The public showers were clean. We had the creekside queen cabin. Not the largest of the cabins offered but perfectly suited to our little family. (Two adults and two kids) there is a sleeping loft suitable for children. Our neighbors had two teens and the teens were not happy with the loft size. You can’t stand in the loft at all but for two little girls the experience was magical. The loft is too small for teens and adults. They had a little window up there and a ladder to get up, they loved it.

Because we drove from Southern California I was able to pack EVERYTHING we needed. Turns out I really didn’t need to pack so much. The canyon market has everything, fire wood, charcoal, lighter fluid, all of the food you need and their barbecue kits are a pretty good value. Pack barbecue cookware of you plan on cooking a lot. The market prices aren’t inflated like one would expect. They sell toiletries, diapers, toys, clothing all at prices you’d expect to see in a regular grocery store. They also have a restaurant with coffee bar and lots of breakfast and lunch items. My kids loved the cinnamon rolls and cocoa. I suggest getting a free bike rental and using that to trek back and forth from cabin to store if you’re high up the hill as you’re not able to drive cars in the cabin area except to unload and load. For disabled or elderly I’d suggest getting a cabin closer to the market.

The walk to the beach is a trek, with toddlers or very elderly just drive over. Otherwise it’s a nice healthy walk and the kids loved seeing the wooden train tracks. Look out for poison oak. Expect a fifteen to twenty minute walk, not five as the front desk suggested. Also expect tar on your feet from the beach. This is a natural occurrence on the California Coast. No big deal, the canyon store sells tar remover (they were out at the time) but we were able to purchase baby oil at their store which worked.

Our cabin seemed equipped with a heater which wasn’t needed and a small table fan. No ceiling fan which surprised me as there looks like their used to be one, but our cabin remained comfortable mid July as we were in a very shaded area. Most of ElCap Canyon is quite shaded. Our neighbors down the hill weren’t so lucky and complained that their cabin was pretty warm.

The pool was nice, no towels at the pool though which was disappointing. Bring your own beach towels. No washer/drier on site but there is one at their sister RV camp ground next door. You can also go there for family movie night and to use their other pool which has a jacuzzi.

All in all we loved our stay.

Pros:

Everything in one spot Clean cabins Comfy beds Very kid friendly Good WiFi Spa Yoga Llama farm Free bike rentals Friendly staff Good food at restaurant Well stocked market Close to beach Pool

Cons:

No ceiling...

First the front staff is extremely rude We checked into cabin #195. The bed sheets had not been changed from the previous stay. Also it smelled like something died in the cabin. We switched to cabin #235 or # 234. It looked ok until latter that night we turned bedding down , to find pubic hair in the bed. I found a Target 10 miles away approximately, and went and bought sheets , blankets, and pillows. Just so we could sleep. By the time we got settled, we couldn't do our s'mores we bought from you store with wood. It was your quiet time. I have never in traveling all over the world gone to a store and spent $150 something dollars on bedding to sleep. At approximately 8:30 the next morning we went to the office. Spoke to a Mark and informed him we would not be staying any longer. He said ok , we can refund you last night. Told us we could bring back key by 11:00. We went to Starbucks and returned. Packed our things and went at approximately 10:43 to give key back. Mark was on a break and another gentleman that claimed to be the supervisor was there. He was extremely rude as I asked about the refund. He stated the manager has to agree to that. Hmmmm that's not what I was told! So I asked for the manager. He informed me there is no manager on site. I asked to speak to someone regarding the situation. He was extremely agitated by this request. He told me someone would call me the next day. I said no , I want to speak to someone. I wanted a check out receipt showing the credit, and that I was checking out. I asked him to read the notes in the computer. He said there none. He told me Mark would be back at 11:00. I said but you're the supervisor? He stated yes I am , in a nasty tone. I asked simple and direct question, you can't take care of this ?He said no I can't. No customer service at all. I then asked him would you sleep in a bed with pubic hair in it. I also showed him pictures of there bedding and it on the floor . I also showed him pics and receipts of what we had to buy. Never once an apology.

Then Mark returned. I said what's going on with my credit. He said manager has to approve. I strongly suggested at this point to get him on the phone. He called and got a Richard Good on the phone. Mr. Good would not even take two minutes to speak to me on the phone. Again no customer service. According to Mark they would credit one night. That Mr. Richard Good would call me. Though not surprised he has not called me. You also charged my CC for both nights. It's deplorable on how you, and your staff handled this situation. I'm expecting a full refund of both night. Considering we could not check in until 4:00 , then we switched cabins. Grabbed something in you restaurant to eat. Then ended up going to Target. Then it was almost 10 and according to your rules quiet time. We woke up in the morning and left. The worst experience I have ever...